Archive of Fishing reports

Ice Fish in a SnoBear!

As for the bite..,we have been fishing all over the Devils Lake basin with great luck for walleyes, pike, and jumbo perch the past ten days. Ice is really quite good (15-20 inches) is the norm most places. Please still use caution around current areas, cracks, and on Stump Lake.

Walleyes have been caught in depths ranging from 8-25 ft for us. Buckshots tipped with a minnow head have been deadly!

Perch have been caught as shallow as 10 ft and as deep as 50 ft. I suggest staring somewhere in between and work shallower and deeper until you find them.

Our best lures for jumbos have been: Hali’s, buckshots, flyers, PK spoons and on days where they are less aggressive, we have use a dropper rig set-up.

Most pike are being caught in with the walleyes and we have also had luck finding pike in shallower water along weed lines. Tip ups or aggressive lures such as buckshots and salmo zippers have worked well!

We have seen weather from 30 below to 30 above, it is winter in North Dakota…on the bright side we are still catching fish on the cold front days! Just the other day it was 30 below and we had a group fish all day long in sweatshirts inside of the comfortable SnoBear! I believe the temp in the bear was 75-80 degrees all day long. Our clients caught a limit of beautiful walleyes and they were warm and comfortable!

If you would like experience an ice trip like no other, give us a call and we will make it happen!

New Years Fishing Report

Posted:

Happy New Years to ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just want to send a big thank you to all my clients this year. Without all my past and future clients it would be impossible to do what I love and meet you and spend time fishing with you all. 2013 was a great start for me in the guiding business and 2014 will only be better. The fishing on this body of water gives us a few challenges, weather plays a role in success of catching each day…. Just remember “fishing is fishing and catching is the bonus”. Now for the weekly report… We have a roller coaster ride this past week with blizzards, drastic temp changes not stable barometric pressuires have made the bite a little tougher. The fish are there in all the “spots” we go to but getting them to bite is a little tricky. Walleyes are affected but not as much as the perch. Walleyes are caught mornings and evenings in 12-18 ft of water then we target perch during the day. Sun sure helps the perch bite and we are weeding thru the smaller perch to land some dandy “jumbo’s”. My January does have a few open dates and Febuary has alot of openings so, if your wanting to come out and catch a few fish give me a call and I will be more than happy to take you out. Till next Time!!!! Tight Lines. John

Saturday, December 28 2013 Fishing Report

Posted: December 30, 2013

Happy Holidays everybody! It has been another great week for the Perch Patrol Guide Service despite some of the weather we have been dealing with. The above photo was taken today as another weekend cold front hit us. Hats off to all of our guests that braved the 50 mph winds and near blizzard conditions. Another Hats off to Clam Outdoors that makes the Fish Trap Thermals and Jason Mitchell Thermals that keep our customers warm and comfortable and able to fish in these type of conditions. Although we kind of hunkered down today and didn’t move much, we were able to catch both perch and walleyes today until about 2 o’clock when the “lock jaw” seemed to set in for everyone.

We have had some great walleye fishing and perch fishing this week. Our best success has still been on the Northland Buckshot Rattle spoons tipped with a minnow head. For walleyes we have been doing the best on flooded structure namely points and humps and our best perch fishing has been in 28 to 34 feet of water. It has been a fun season so far as our ice conditions are now 20 inches and the lack of snow we have on the lake, has enabled all of us to really hit a ton of spots. It seems like everyday we find a new spot or two and the results have provided some pretty happy clientele.

The schedule for both the Perch Patrol Guide Service and Woodland Resort is really filling fast. The Perch Patrol does still have some openings the starting on Dec. 30th and a few openings through January 12th. We do have seven guides on the Perch Patrol and it takes a lot to fill us but we do have a ton of dates that are sold out. Best recommendations to give you is call the Perch Patrol Hotline and visit with Zippy and he will help you find some dates that will work. Woodland Resort is extremely busy and the lodging in January is very tight. They do have some room in February and probably more room in March, so keep that in mind. We have a ton of winter left and we do have incredible fishing that happens in both of those months. Other lodging options to be explored are Lakeview Lodge, which is not far from Woodland Resort or the city of Devils Lake has a lot of motels to choose from.

The word has spread through out the ice belt of the fantastic fishing on Devils Lake that we are experiencing. This is why things are so crazy busy up here. We don’t want to discourage you from planning a trip here but just want to understand how important it is to make your plans now and make your reservations. This schedule will sell out.

Below are some pictures from the last week. Not too shabby considering we had Dec. 24, 25, and 26th off for Christmas. Report courtesy of the Perch Patrol

Fishing Report for December 26, 2013

Posted: December 26, 2013

Ice fishing on Devils Lake continues to be excellent. Anglers are reporting some of the early hot perch spots getting a bit tougher due to pressure, but those anglers moving around a little bit are finding active schools and doing quite well with good numbers of perch in the 12”-14” range. Ice conditions have improved with most anglers driving in all areas of the lake. We do urge caution around pressure ridges and moving water bridge areas. Anglers are reporting fish being caught in most all areas of the lake. From west to east some of the better spots have been: The Mauvee bridge area for both walleyes and some perch. In the Flats the smaller bays such as Oswalds Bay, Howards Bay, and Hog Bay for both perch and walleyes. The north end of Six Mile Bay including the sunken road, the area just south of the sunken road, and the Pepsi sign area for perch and walleyes. Bud Bay and Doc Hagens for walleyes and some perch. On the Main Bay, the area from the Towers to the Dome house, Rocky Point to Military Point, and the Casino area for perch and some walleyes. Concrete Bay and the Ft. Totten area for walleyes and some perch. Mission Bay around the bridges, the sunken railroad bed, and gravel pits for walleyes. In East Bay, the Stromme Addition, Storm Sewer area, and Foughty’s Point for walleyes and some perch. Haybale Bay for perch and walleyes. The Woods Rutten area for perch and some walleyes. The south end of Black Tiger and Dead Cow Bay along with the sunken park road have also been good for perch and walleyes. In East Devils Lake, Jerusalem Bay and the outlet area have been good for both perch and walleyes. In all areas the walleye bite has been best in the early morning and evening hours. Most fish being caught are more of the eater 14”-20” size, but some larger fish and lots of smaller fish are also being caught. Look for rocky areas such as sunken roads or points. For walleyes try working lures such as sonars, salmo’s, and lindy darters; spoons such as kastmasters, buckshot rattlespoons, and lindy rattling flyers tipped with minnows or minnow heads; or just a plain hook or a jig with a minnow and slip bobber. For perch the bite is best in the morning to noon hours, but fish can be found and caught all day. Try using ice jigs such as fat boys, genz worms, hali’s, rocker minnows, frostee spoons, smaller kastmasters, buckshot rattle spoons, lindy ice jigs, ratso’s, ratfinky’s, and other smaller jigs tipped with wax worms, minnow, or minnow heads. Keep in mind that those being more mobile and moving around if they’re not catching fish are having the best success at finding schools of active perch. Good Luck and we hope you have some excellent holiday fishing here on Devils Lake.

Fishing Report December 22nd

Posted:

This last week we have seen the best and the mediocre with the perch fishing. What I mean by this is the clients caught their limits of perch when the weather was stable and the barometric pressure remained consistent. The days when fronts moved through the bit got a little tougher meaning, we had to downsize from 1/8th oz buckshots tipped with a minnow head to a tunston jig and waxies. The fish were there we just had to barely move the jig and “twitch” the rod to get them to bite. The walleye bite was better and maybe the fronts didn’t affect them as much as we were able to catch walleyes when we went after them. We caught alot of that 6-10 inch class but we worked through them and got limits of walleyes 14-18″. Buckshots tipped with a minnow head was the trick for the walleyes in that 12-20 ft range. The phone has been ringing off the hook for reservations and my calander is filling fast. I would love to take your group out to experience some of the best ice fishing you will have but, you gotta call and book your trip before it’s too late! I want to take this time to wish all my past and future clients a safe and happy holiday season! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! John
Courtesy of Big John’s Guide Service

Thursday, December 19: Devils Lake Fishing Is Hot!

Posted: December 20, 2013

All we can say is WOW! We returned from the sport shows in Duluth, Minnesota and Wausau, Wisconsin and immediately stepped into guiding customers and our rods have been double over ever since. The story that was released by our ND Game and Fish this fall regarding the booming perch population in Devils Lake currently is proving to be as accurate as can be. I don’t know if we ever, in our 19 year history have group after group limiting out on perch every day like we have this week.

Northland Buckshot Rattle spoons tipped with either a minnow head, perch eye, or wax worms have been the hot ticket so far. We have cought good numbers of perch in 10 feet, 18 feet, 23 feet, 34 feet, and 42 feet of water. We have been also catching walleyes and white bass along with the perch.

As far as ice conditions, we are finding 15 to 17 inches most everywhere we have been so far and we are driving out trucks on the ice. If you are going to tackle Devils Lake on your own, as always be careful and watch out for cracks and pressure ridges.

We also hosted a pretty darn cool media event this week. We would like to thank Suzie Kenner and the Devils Lake Tourism for hooking us up with Steve and Kieth Worrell and Brooke from Outdoors First Media in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. They have a killer website www.outdoorsfirst.com. They shot numerous videos for the website and took a ton of really cool underwater footage of jumbo perch making the biggest mistake of their life.

A couple of items that we need to mention… Things are CRAZY BUSY! Please have patience when calling both the Perch Patrol Hotline and Woodland Resort. Leave a message, I will get back to you. These phones are ringing off the hook and we are having to spend more time than normal on the phone as we are trying to find room to accommodate people. Our dates are filling up rapidly and once we are full, we are full. If your party is on our schedule one thing you can do to help is to go online and buy your fishing license before you come. It is quite simple and doing so, will enable your party to get out fishing faster on your first day. www.gf.nd.gov If you are waiting for a reply on an email, I am doing the best I can. Often I just call you instead of returning email.

Fishing Report

Posted: December 17, 2013

December 16,2013

Writing this report is very easy because the perch and walleye are biting and Ice Fishing has been nothing short of awesome!!! Limits of perch caught Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Today. The perch are good size too, 11-13″ has been very common and the walleyes are 13-17″ both are just slammin the bait we put in front of them. I have had groups out last week and have groups out this week and next and fishing should be good if the weather stays stable. January is 80% full and Febuary is showing signs of being awesome. The lake has 15-18″ of Ice and we are driving out to our spots. I have gotten all my rods from 13 fishing, I use the WICKED combo’s ML 26″ or the Whiteout combo’s 27″ ML these rods have a light action with a great backbone for those jumbo perch and walleyes. I also use vexilar FL 18’S. Without the electronics you are just fishing blind and with a little instruction to the clients, they sure enjoy watching the fish appear on the flasher and it helps them “catch more fish”. Also in the arsenal is the all new Eskimo Flip-Mo 2 thermal, these guys have made fishing in a shelter alot more ejoyable with their larger design and thermal cover helps keeps the heat in on those -40 below wind chills. I also have the rod storage hard cases from Ice Fishing Inovations, these rod lockers hold and protect my rods with no problems. Please be sure to check out my sponsors above and support them like I have….. You won’t be dissapointed. If you are looking for a fully guided Ice Fishing Adventure on beautiful Devils Lake North Dakota, then what are you waiting for???? Give us a call. Till Next Time…Tight Lines<{{{{{>

Game and Fish News

Posted: December 16, 2013

ANS Prevention in Winter
North Dakota ice anglers are reminded that regulations designed to reduce the spread of aquatic nuisance species also apply in winter, and law enforcement officials will continue their efforts to ensure compliance.

It’s important to reiterate that only legal live bait can be transported in water in a container up to five gallons. Neither game nor nongame species can be transported in water, although a daily catch can be packed in snow.

Other simple methods to prevent winter ANS introductions are:
• Do not use illegally imported baits.
• Do not empty a bait bucket into any water body.
• Do not drop plant fragments into the water.
• Dispose any unused bait into the trash.

Winter Fishing Regulations
North Dakota anglers are encouraged to refer to the 2012-14 North Dakota Fishing Guide or the State Game and Fish Department’s website for winter fishing regulations.

In addition, anglers can visit the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov, for an extensive list of fishing questions and answers, and a winter fishing preview from North Dakota Outdoors magazine.

Some winter fishing regulations include:
• A maximum of four poles is legal for ice fishing. However, when fishing a water body where both open water and ice occur at the same time, an angler is allowed a maximum of four poles, of which no more than two poles can be used in open water.
• Tip-ups are legal, and each tip-up is considered a single pole.
• There is no restriction on the size of the hole in the ice while fishing. When a hole larger than 10 inches in diameter is left in the ice, the area in the immediate vicinity must be marked with a natural object. See regulations for more information.
• It is only legal to release fish back into the water immediately after they are caught. Once a fish is held in a bucket or on a stringer, they can no longer be legally released in any water.
• It is illegal to catch fish and transport them in water.
• It is illegal to leave fish, including bait, behind on the ice.
• Depositing or leaving any litter or other waste material on the ice or shore is illegal.
• Any dressed fish to be transported, if frozen, must be packaged individually. Anglers are not allowed to freeze fillets together in one large block. Two fillets count as one fish.
• The daily limit is a limit of fish taken from midnight to midnight, and no person may possess more than one day’s limit of fish while actively engaged in fishing. The possession limit is the maximum number of fish that an angler may have in his or her possession during a fishing trip of more than one day.

Fish House Regulations
Winter anglers are reminded that any fish house left unoccupied on North Dakota waters must be made out of materials that will allow it to float.

A popular question this time of the year is if campers qualify as legal fish houses. The answer is the same for any structure taken on the ice – if it’s left unattended, it must be able to float; if it’s not able to float, it must be removed when the angler leaves the ice.

Other fish house regulations include:
• Fish houses do not require a license.
• Occupied structures do not require identification. However, any unoccupied fish house must have the owner’s name, and either address or telephone number, displayed on its outside in readily distinguishable characters at least three inches high.
• Fish houses may not be placed closer than 50 feet in any direction to another house without consent of the occupant of the other fish house.
• Fish houses shall be removed from all waters by midnight, March 15, of each year. They can be used after March 15 if they are removed daily.
Anglers should refer to the 2012-14 North Dakota Fishing Guide for winter fishing regulations.